Reprinted from the original 1982 version (published by Laurel Hill).
Florida boasts an extremely diverse flora, ranging from tropical species in the south to Appalachian Mountain remnants in the panhandle. Florida Wild Flowers and Roadside Plants is a helpful guide to identifying 500 species of Florida plant life, including rare as well as common wildflowers and characteristic trees, shrubs, vines, and ferns. Each description includes both common and scientific names, a range map, symbols to show the season of bloom, and a useful summary code of nine key plant, leaf, and flower characters, to aid in identification. With rich colour photographs and brief, nontechnical notes to accompany each species, this handbook is a valuable reference for tourists, residents, students, and anyone interested in plants in all seasons of the year, from Pensacola to the Keys.
C. Ritchie Bell, founding director of the North Carolina Botanical Garden and professor emeritus of botany at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the author or co-author of nine books, including Wild Flowers of North Carolina and the Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (both from the University of North Carolina Press).
Bryan J. Taylor is the former chief park naturalist of the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation.